"Dear Soldier, your commitment and the commitment of your family to our country's integrity and freedom is so greatly appreciated. People like you make me proud to be an American. Know that what you do matters. You make our world a better place. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

Military TimesPresident Donald Trump signed the annual defense policy bill into law, officially establishing the 2018 military pay raise at 2.4 percent and setting the stage for increased Pentagon spending in coming months.READ MORE

The HillHouse GOP leadership will put a stopgap spending package on the floor next week that fully funds defense through September but provides short-term funding for the rest of the government, Republican lawmakers said.
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Defense NewsAn underreported but long-awaited event begins at the Pentagon this month: Over 20 years after enactment of a law requiring the audit of federal agencies, the U.S. Department of Defense commenced its first full-scope financial statement audit.
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Defense NewsThe Pentagon's top acquisition official plans to cut the time for early lead procurement by 50 percent, with a future goal of compressing the timeline of request for proposals to contract on major defense acquisition programs from two and a half years down to about 12 months.READ MORE

Defense NewsThe Pentagon has steadily been pushing milestone authority for major defense programs to the individual military services, but shifting personnel down from the Office of the Secretary of Defense will take longer.READ MORE

The Associated Press via U.S. News and World ReportPresident Donald Trump is set to unveil his first National Security Strategy. National security adviser H.R. McMaster said the strategy will incorporate four core national interests: the protection of American people; advancing American prosperity; "preserving peace through strength"; and advancing American influence. READ MORE

Stars and StripesVeterans' health care will be dramatically affected if Congress finishes without funding a program that permits many veterans to receive private-sector medical care, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin warned. Without more money, the VA will soon stop referring patients to their private-sector doctors, he said.READ MORE

U.S. Department of Veterans AffairsThe Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced the inaugural Mayor's Challenge to Prevent Suicide among service members, Veterans and their families. The goal of the Mayor's Challenge is to eliminate suicide by using a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention. READ MORE

Stars and StripesThe Department of Veterans Affairs will hire 200 temporary workers and shell out $70 million to implement a major expansion of veterans' education benefits — a process beset by communication and information technology challenges, veterans advocates and VA officials said. Higher-than-anticipated costs is one of a number of problems that the agency has faced for months of a yearlong charge to implement the "Forever" GI Bill, which contains 34 changes to veterans' education benefits and boosts spending by $3 billion for 10 years.READ MORE

The Fayetteville ObserverThe Army has selected Fort Bragg to be home to one of its newest units. The second Security Force Assistance Brigade will be activated on the nation's largest military installation next month. The first SFAB was stood up earlier this year at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Fort Bragg unit will be the second of six planned SFABs, specialized units "whose core mission is to conduct advise-and-assist operations with allied and partner nations."READ MORE

Air Force TimesThe days of airmen deploying overseas by themselves are over. The Air Force announced in a release that as of Nov. 30, airmen deploying on individual taskings will be sent in teams of three or more. This new policy, called Deployed Teaming, seeks to reduce the pressure and strain that comes when airmen deploy by themselves. Instead, airmen deploying together "will provide mutual support" during their period overseas, according to the release.READ MORE

Commissary Web Posts

The following commissary items were recently posted to the ALA Website (www.ALA-National.org):

Supermarket NewsWith or without merger and acquisition activity, Supervalu Inc. has seen what CEO Mark Gross calls "significant" growth in recent months.
Speaking at the Barclays Eat, Sleep, Play conference on Tuesday, Gross said that removing the wholesaler's June acquisition of Unified Grocers Inc. from the equation left the company with about 12 percent of organic growth for the last quarter. Before acquiring Unified Grocers, the company saw a 58 percent uptick in sales for the segment.READ MORE

Food ProcessingPinnacle Foods' story reads like the shows on home improvement channels. Metaphorically, the company began as HGTV's "Fixer-Upper" and "House Hunters," then segued into "Income Property." With recent independence and a new strategy going forward, it's switching channels to DIY's "This New House," maybe even "Dream House."
But so far no "Flip or Flop."
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Business InsiderAmericans are passionate about their grocery stores.
But some of the most popular chains in the nation only exist in particular regions, so it's likely you've never even heard of some of them. The mobile search-and-discovery app Foursquare put together a list of the most-visited grocery stores in each state across the U.S., based on its own visit data.
Check out the full list below. READ MORE

The Columbus DispatchKroger is getting into the meal-kit business in a big way, rolling out the cook-at-home option in 200 of its stores.
The news, however, is serving as a big lump of coal in the stockings of online meal-kit operators, such as Blue Apron.
The Cincinnati-based grocer has stores from coast to coast. If the new meal kits, which were tested in Cincinnati earlier this year, expand across its system, the Blue Aprons in the marketplace could be in trouble. That's because of the very reason that meal kits exist: convenience.READ MORE

The VergeWal-Mart has officially joined the meal kit scene, offering options like chicken tikka masala and Thai crab curry with jasmine rice on its website. The company appears to be working with several brands, such as Takeout Kit and Home Chef, to offer diverse cuisines like Sichuan-style Mapo tofu, Moroccan shakshuka, Spanish paella, and other low calorie or gluten free options. READ MORE

SupermarketNewsMillennials are more likely than other age groups to shop three or more retail outlets for groceries each week, according to a new report from Acosta.
However, although price is a driving factor for most shoppers who report shopping multiple locations, Millennials are the least likely of any age group to report price as a reason for spreading their grocery shopping around.READ MORE

Whole Foods MagazinePublix Super Markets is bringing its GreenWise Market concept to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Expected to open in early 2019, the store will focus on the specialty, natural and organic sector.
The first newly redesigned GreenWise Market is currently under construction near Florida State University and is expected to open late 2018.READ MORE

Ft. Leavensorth LampTo make gift giving easier, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service is extending its return policy for items purchased from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24.
AAFES' standard policy allows returns anywhere from up to 15 to 90 days of purchase with a sales receipt. The holiday return/exchange policy extends these terms through Jan. 31.
"The Exchange knows that sometimes a gift can be the wrong color, size or brand," said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes, the Exchange's senior enlisted advisor. "The extended return policy goes the extra mile to make sure everyone gets the perfect gift this year."READ MORE

DVIDSAirman Basic Alissia Bert browsed racks of jackets, shirts and pants at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Exchange, looking for a special gift to send to her 3-year-old son, Darton, back home in Oklahoma City.
Bert, 20, is in her seventh week of Air Force Basic Military Training. She hasn't seen Darton since she reported to Lackland in October. This year, she's spending the holidays away from him.
Bert and 3,800 trainees were treated to holiday cheer Dec. 2 at the Lackland Exchange, which opened extra early just for them. Typically, trainees are not allowed to visit the Exchange or do much beyond their rigorous assignments. READ MORE

CNBCWalmart makes last-minute holiday push for procrastinators Walmart makes last-minute holiday push for procrastinators
In the final weeks before Christmas, Wal-Mart is making its biggest push yet for the company's order online, pick up in store service.
This holiday season, the big-box retailer will qualify more items on Walmart.com for same-day pickup in stores than ever before, Walmart announced recently. The company continues to tap into the 90 percent of Americans who live within 10 miles of a Wal-Mart store.READ MORE

NRFRetailers have been watching artificial intelligence for years, and while 2018 may be the year it takes off, many companies struggle to justify the investment without a clear strategy. Earlier this year at Shop.org, Oak Labs CEO and founder Healey Cypher spoke with Joyce Lee, head of Google Retail Innovation, and Jennifer Tvedt, global director of project management and performance innovation at Nike Inc., about the advancements and potential of chatbots and AI-powered messaging.
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The Wall Street JournalThe Evensville, Tennessee, Dollar General store, built on a rural highway and surrounded by farmland, sells no fresh meat, greens or fruit. Yet, the 7,400-square-foot steel-sided store has most of what Eddie Watson needs.
The selection echoes a suburban drugstore chain, from shower curtains to breakfast cereal, toilet paper, plastic toys and camouflage-pattern socks. Refrigerators and freezers on one wall hold milk, eggs and frozen pizza.READ MORE

Convenience Store DecisionsBetter customer service is a top demand of holiday shoppers this season.
ChargeItSpot, a provider of cell phone charging stations, has announced the results of its "2017 Holiday Shopping Report."
The study asked consumers their holiday shopping habits, if they would be using their mobile devices during their trip, and how they felt about their overall shopping experience. ChargeItSpot collected responses from more than 1,000 shoppers at malls across the country using its phone charging stations. Below are the key takeaways from the study.READ MORE

The Wall Street JournalAmericans are spending more this holiday season than analysts expected, fueled by income gains, confidence in the economic outlook, buoyant financial markets and modest inflation.
That includes spending at brick-and-mortar stores, such as Wal-Mart Inc. and Nordstrom Inc., which clocked the largest year-over-year November sales increase in seven years.
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ForbesBack at the founding of American retail, led by 19th and early 20th century visionaries like John Wanamaker, Rowland Hussey Macy, Marshall Field, Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck, the big idea was finding and getting products for the American consumer. The much needed service retailers provided then was gathering products in one place and making them available to customers hungry to acquire consumer goods. Back in the day retail was a product-first, product-led, product-centered business.
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The Wall Street JournalWal-Mart Stores Inc. is taking the stores out of Wal-Mart.
The retail behemoth with more than 11,700 locations around the world announced that it will shorten its legal name to Walmart Inc. The move highlights the company's shift away from building traditional stores toward competing online with rival Amazon.com Inc.
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Convenience Store Decisions7-Eleven wants its customers to know that "help on the shelf" is just around the corner at the neighborhood 7-Eleven store, should last minute, emergency holiday shopping needs appear.
7-Eleven has a surprisingly long list of holiday helps packed in its stores, including the latest toys for kids, game cards for teens, gift cards for teachers and co-workers, presents for white elephant gift exchanges, holiday party food and beverages, sweet treats and stocking stuffers.
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CSP Daily NewsThe Trump administration is attempting to broker a deal between oil and ethanol industry supporters over requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Sources told Reuters that the White House was slated to host a meeting Dec. 13 with legislators representing oil, biofuel and farming industry constituents to forge a deal that would lessen refiners' burden in complying with the RFS, a program that requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels, primarily ethanol.READ MORE

Conveninece Store DecisionsWhile purchasing gasoline is the most common trip driver to convenience stores, it is especially likely to drive convenience store trips in the Midwest and South. On the other hand, commuting stops and trips to buy a meal are significantly more likely in the Northeast.
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Convenience Store NewsSheetz Inc. is testing an anti-drug measure in the form of blue lighting inside the restrooms of its convenience store in New Kensington, Pennsylvania.
The lights are intended to make it more difficult for drug users to inject intravenous drugs, reported the Valley News Dispatch.READ MORE

CSP Daily News 7-Eleven Inc. is testing on-demand ordering for delivery or in-store pickup at select Dallas stores with its new 7-ElevenNow smartphone app.
Currently being tested in 10 downtown and uptown 7-Eleven stores, 7 ElevenNow is expected to roll out to other U.S. locations in 2018. READ MORE

Army & Air Force ExchangeThe Army & Air Force Exchange Service is having a pet photo contest this holiday season, where two grand-prize winners will each fetch a $1,000 shopping spree and eight runners up will receive a $500 Exchange gift card. To participate, qualified shoppers can submit their best photo tribute to their favorite pet.
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Quantico SentryThe world is a changing place and the Marine Corps is no different. At one time, it was commonplace to find Marines being directed to accomplish duties not within the scope of their regular duties. Lovingly known as being "Voluntold," these duties typically involved providing support to specific events which were of little to no interest to the Marine. These working parties provided a day out of the office or a change of pace, but offered little return to the community or self-fulfillment.
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